Updated LPA Rules now in effect

Updated Rules which underpin Australia’s Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program are now in effect.

For the last 20 years LPA has played a crucial role in ensuring Australia’s $74.5 billion red meat industry continues to thrive. The program was developed so our industry had consistent on-farm standards and practices to manage potential food safety risks and assure global customers about the integrity of Australian red meat.

LPA continues to underpin our industry’s food safety, animal welfare and traceability credentials and without it, Australia would not be the global red meat producer that it is.

Most Australian meat processors and major retailers require their livestock to have come from an LPA-accredited property making LPA accreditation key for market access.

Due to the program’s critical role, it is necessary that it is updated to keep pace with global demands. To achieve this, the red meat industry recently updated the LPA Rules and these took effect from 1 September.

New Self-Assessment tool for accreditation and reaccreditation

A key change is the existing accreditation and reaccreditation questionnaire has been replaced with a new Self-Assessment tool, which takes around 20 minutes to complete. This new tool aims to increase the robustness of the LPA program and enhance the learning opportunities available to producers about the LPA program and its requirements. To date, more than 4,800 producers have completed the new Self-assessment tool since its launch on 1 September.

Download your customised Recommendations Report

After completing the Self-Assessment tool, producers will be able to download a customised Recommendations Report designed to help you meet your LPA requirements by identifying key areas for on-farm improvement specific to your circumstances.

Your personalised Recommendations Report will include guidance and access to resources which are aimed at supporting you to produce safe, high quality and ethically produced red meat.

Accreditation renewal time change

The renewal period for LPA accreditation from 1 September 2024 will be two years, instead of the previous three years. This change has been made to help you stay up to date with LPA requirements, ensure the information remains top of mind and help support the robustness of the program.

The cost of accreditation and reaccreditation is $90 plus GST for the two-year accreditation period. This fee helps support the operational costs of running LPA and associated audits.

When do I need to renew my LPA accreditation?

Your accreditation will be rolled into this new two-year cycle as it falls due over the next three years.

Other LPA Rules changes

There are several other updates to the LPA Rules which will further strengthen the program moving forward. These include:

• the addition of voluntary modules to the program. This includes the introduction of the Harvested Rangeland Goats module from 1 October 2024
• additional livestock declarations will be able to be made on the electronic National Vendor Declaration (eNVD)
• opportunities to share audit outcomes from other compliance programs to reduce audit duplication
• updating of data sharing, reporting and notification requirements to ensure fairness and compliance with legislation
• clarified roles, responsibilities and definitions
• clarified process for audits, nonconformities and status changes, and
• new processes for handling complaints and issues of concern.

To read the updated LPA Rules, please click here.